Democrats Did Well with the January 6th Committee

US Government, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

The January 6th committee wrapped up its first set of hearings last week. This latest round was just as newsworthy as the committee’s previous televised meetings. Members heard testimony from two Trump aids who resigned in disgust after January 6th. They shared harrowing stories of Secret Service members fearful that they would be murdered in the course of duty. The committee even went viral with a video of Missouri Senator Josh Hawley running away from a mob he had egged on just hours before. In all, the committee made further progress in its efforts to find out what happened that day and to hold at least some of the perpetrators responsible.

Critics have charged that the committee can never meet its true objective: putting the one man who prompted the riot in jail. Donald Trump has so far evaded dozens of attempts to investigate his conduct and hold him accountable for misdeeds. He is preparing to run for president again and politically taint any attempts to probe into his role in the 2021 riot. In addition to not holding Trump accountable, critics believe that it has also failed at changing the political calculus in this country. The committee was supposed to aid Democrats by showing the Republican Party as a lawless cabal whose reckless rhetoric and coddling of extremists led to a deadly assault on democracy. But every day brings the country a new poll spelling disaster for Democrats in the 2022 midterms.

The January 6th committee is far from perfect. It will certainly not end poverty, disease, war, or many of the other forces which afflict humanity. It also may not overcome the historical forces that doom presidents in their midterm elections. But the committee’s actions are still a success for a Democratic Party which needs all of the small victories it can find.

One of the key measures of success for the January 6th Committee was the lack of bloviating House member speeches. In early 2019, observers frequently criticized Democrats for losing the plot of their oversight hearings and descending into bickering and infighting with Republicans. This time around, there was little grandstanding and few attempts at blatant fundraising. In many instances, the focus of the hearing could not be brought back to individual Democratic House members. The focus was always on the misdeeds of the Trump administration and almost never on awkward Democratic phrasing or obvious grandstanding.

The January 6th committee also showed its expertise by its ability to remain newsworthy and in the headlines. In several instances, it showed a clear understanding of how to create a political story that people would follow. The Cassidy Hutchinson testimony was an obvious example. House Democrats could have easily postponed her testimony by weeks or months to ensure that the party had the time to review what she might say and corroborate her comments about Secret Service members. But their rapid-fire approach helped bring a sense of urgency to the hearing in which she appeared. The idea that the entire tone and trajectory of the committee had to be changed immediately in order to allow a famous Trump confidante to speak was catnip to political observers. It created mystery and suspense that the actual testimony certainly delivered on.

Democrats showed a willingness to embrace spectacle with these hearings that they have otherwise ignored. Timing itself was a factor. Democrats booked primetime television space to maximize attention and optimized the timing of other meetings to keep the committee’s revelations in the news. Another prime example of this focus was the aforementioned video depicting Josh Hawley running from the mob. This video had every prerequisite necessary for a political story to go viral. It showed blatant hypocrisy from a political leader that many people have heard of. It caught that hypocrisy in a short, clear clip. A more serious committee would not have shown it, on the grounds that Hawley was not being charged with a crime or targeted as an organizer. But committee leaders showed it anyway. It was a powerful moment that indicated leading Democrats knew what they were doing when they set this committee up.

The January 6th hearings may easily be forgotten following the midterm elections. After an election that is disastrous for one party, it is tempting to dismiss everything that party did leading up to their defeat as ineffective. Democrats should not treat the January 6th hearings this way, even if they are wiped out in November. The Democratic Party finally used the levers of government to create a presentation that captivated the nation and reminded everyone of Donald Trump’s crimes. They should learn from this success.